Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)

Two journalists from two different publications were arrested for defamation and only released after a sit in staged by fellow colleagues.

For almost two years family, friends and colleagues were unaware of the whereabouts of Nigerian journalist Jones Abiri. It was suspected that he was being detained but no one knew for certain. On August 15 he was finally released on bail after two years in arbitrary detention on charges of terrorism.

From April to June this year, the Media Foundation for West Africa recorded 40 violations across 13 countries which include the death of 5 people and brutal police assaults on journalists and demonstrators.

Mali has always been threatened by violence with journalists being specifically targeted over the years.

The newspaper crisis in Mauritania highlights media freedom and sustainability issues in the country.

Accra’s Human Rights Court has uphelds journalist Ohemaa Sakyiwaa’s right to file an assault case against her attack by a member of Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Several private radio and television stations in Niger have been closed down by the authorities for non-payment of taxes despite the protests by the broadcasting stations earlier this year.

The West African media landscape for June 2018 was tainted by the assault of journalists in the Gambia and Mali, the arbitrary detention of a journalist in Guinea and a social media activist in Burkina Faso.